December 31, 2004

Coming Home

Well, life was different when we returned. We got home on December 1st and felt like strangers in a familiar land. Things were the same, yet felt very different. Some changes were due to the hurricanes. Many large banyan trees and oak trees that used to add so much character to our otherwise flat landscape were missing. Blue tarps covered many rooftops. Beaches were altered. Businesses or restaurants closed due to damages. Other changes reflected the continual increase in the number of people moving to south Florida – more high- or mid-rise buildings sprouting up, and the traffic. Traffic here this winter is the worst we have ever experienced. Could it be that our perspective changed? After a year of traveling across country in relatively open or rural areas we thought at first it was our perspective that was different. But no, we’ve been here for two months now and we still think traffic has never been so bad. Including our little city of Boca.

But living in an RV did show us that we can live happily in smaller quarters. Our house suddenly seemed so large. And all of a sudden we began to really appreciate the fact that in the RV we didn’t have so much home maintenance to worry about. Cleaning all of the space we realized we didn’t need; home repairs; yard-work. Granted, a lot of it was “catch-up” due to the home being vacant for a year, but we started to re-evaluate our lives and what we wanted to do with our time. This was the beginning of our thoughts on down-sizing into a condo.

The last two weeks in December we spent in Philly visiting our families for the holiday. My (Diane’s) mother is planning a move from the home we grew up in, so much of my time was spent helping her with home repairs, packing, etc. It felt good to help her prepare for her down-sizing to a place more appropriate for her, too!

Needless to say, we didn’t get to think much more about our life until we returned in January. To read more about the changes in our life and our future travel plans you’ll need to continue reading our 2005 blog or return to our website Diandy.com and click on the current weblog to see what we’re doing today!